tattoos and school

i finally got my tattoo done! sadly, no pix yet. can't figure out the rackin-frackin camera yet! i'll conquer that little s.o.b. soon...
school is going okay. first week was tough...wanted to quit a couple of times. i've been feeling distressed and disconnected, partly due to a tough summer and also to not having a support system here. i miss my hubby, my friends, my church, and dwayne, too. it's like i have no idea what's happening at LH, now that i'm away, and there's so many changes going on. i have my toughest class this semester, Desktop Publishing. you'd think that one would be easy for me, wouldn't ya? no...not in a classroom. i wish the instructor would just go over a couple of things then give us an assignment, then i could get to work. but he talks a mile a minute, for the entire six hours of class, and to top it off, he does things like asking, "did you get that, corrina" in front of the whole class. so that really puts me on the spot, and embarrasses me. he's not very patient. it annoys me, too, that i'm supposed to be learning DTP from a guy who loudly proclaims how much he hates email, the internet, and dealing with clients who don't know anything about design. he didn't even know what a blog was! at least i have drawing class. what a joy! poul is such a great teacher, so easy to get along with, and being able to draw for six hours...a huge pleasure!
for those who care to know, it's now been nine months since i spoke to my mother-in-law. probably more than a year since i spoke to lorene. i don't hold out much hope that we'll ever talk again. i have a gut feeling that this is permanent. i regret that, wish things could have been different, but it's out of my hands now. i just wish they wouldn't shut out my kids and brian because they're angry with me. it bothers me that brian is so hurt by their withdrawal...it's not fair to him. but again, i have no control over that. just have to ride it out, see what happens.